Accessory for knitting machines

ABSTRACT

A machine for semi automatically applying a selvage to a knitted fabric while at the same time casting the fabric off the needles of a knitting machine. A carriage is slidable along the needle bed of a knitting machine and a mechanism advances the carriage one needle at a time while simultaneously reciprocating a needle with a latch which thus makes the selvage. The selvaging machine can be actuated by turning a crank or squeezing and releasing two knobs in an inexpensive embodiment. The selvaging machine can be made with a pinion and double acting pawl so that it can work in both directions and therefore have capability for V-neck and polo neck selvaging on jerseys.

United States Patent [1 1 Seegers 5] Apr. 23, 1974 ACCESSORY FORKNITTING MACHINES [76] Inventor: Constant Petrus Albertus Seegers,

Box 1080, Pietersburg, South Africa 22 Filed: Feb. 1, 1973 [21] Appl.No.: 328,812

[52] US. Cl. 66/147 [51] Int. Cl D04b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 66/60,83, 147, 172; 139/124 A [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 69,647 7/1893 Germany 66/172 Primary Examiner-RonaldFeldbaum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Omri M. Behr; Peter J. Gaylor i 5ABSTRACT A machine for semi automatically applying a selvage to aknitted fabric while at the same time casting the fabric off the needlesof a knitting machine. A carriage is slidable along the needle bed of aknitting machine and a mechanism advances the carriage one needle at atime while simultaneously reciprocating a needle with a latch which thusmakes the selvage. The selvaging machine can be actuated by turning acrank or squeezing and releasing two knobs in an inexpensive embodiment.The selvaging machine can be made with a pinion and double acting pawlso that it can work in both directions and therefore have capability forV-neck and polo neck selvaging on jerseys.

7 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures PATENTEU APR 2 3 I974 SHEET 1 [IF 5.

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PATEMTEUAPR 23 I974 SHEEI 3 [IF 5,

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1 ACCESSORY FOR KNITTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The fieldof this invention is knitting machines, that is knitting machines of oneor more beds of reciprocable needles, the needles being of a knittingtype having a latched hook. The invention is in principle applicableboth to manually operable knitting machines and motor driven knittingmachines of more or less fully automatic operation. Ordinarily mostknitting machines comprise a single (usually almost horizontal), needlebed. However, machines are also known comprising two needle bedsinclined to and facing one another for knitting a double sided fabricbetween the two beds. This invention is applicable to all such knittingmachines.

In the case, for example, of the single bed manually operated knittingmachine which is well known, the machine effects casting on and knittingof successive rows. However, reducing (e.g., as at the neck and armholes of a jersey) and finishing off the top edge of-a knitted fabric byknitting a selvage has at the present to be done by hand using anindividual needle. A common experience therefore is that the applicationof the selvage and reducing take virtually as much time as knitting theentire remainder of the garment by use of the knitting machine. Thislimitation of the capability of known knitting machines, which appliesto other known knitting machines operating by means of one or more bedsof reciprocable needles thus seriously detracts from the value of themto users.

An object of this invention is to provide a selvaging machine for use inmechanically applying a selvage to a fabric knitted by a machine of thetype described above. To the applicants knowledge a selvaging machine ofthis nature has not beendeveloped up to now.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION A selvaging machine in accordance with thisinvention for use on a knitting machine which knitting machine comprisesa needle bed. which has two slide surfaces'extending along the length ofthe needle bed and a plurality of needles located transversely acrossthe bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced, the selvaging machinebeing for use in applying a selvage to a knitted fabric in which theloops of the last knitted row of the fabric are on the needle shafts ofthe needles,

which selvaging machine comprises: a carriage adapted to be slidablymovable along the needle bed by means of slide members which can slideon the slide surfaces of the needle bed,

a toothed element mounted in the carriage and adapted to engageeachneedle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a spacebetween two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as toadvance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres andthe toothed element to then move out of the space and into the nextspace between and so on, and a needle carrier mounted in the carriageadapted to carry a needle which has a latched hook, with the hooklocated near to the books of the needles of the needle beda'nd the shaftof the needle in the needle carrier directed awayfrom the'needle bed,

the next two adjacent needles,

the needle carrier being adapted to reciprocate one cycle comprisingonce towards the needle bed and once away from the needle bed while thecarriage moves lengthwise along the needle bed a distance equal to thedistance between centres of the needles in the needle bed and handlemeans adapted to be manually actuated and connected to the toothedelement and to the needle carrier by mechanisms adapted to actuate thetoothed elementand the needle carrier in the manner described so thatone cycle of reciprocation of the needle carried on the carriage iscompleted per needle spacing on the bed during transportation of thecarriage along the bed, the hook of the needle carried on the carriagebeing positioned and oriented so that such reciprocation successivelyremoves the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric andvchain-connects them to form a selvage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention will be more fully.described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which severalembodiments are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 to 7 relate to a first embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a selvaging machine in accordance with apreferred embodiment of this in vention,

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an inverted plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional end elevation on section IVIV of FIG. 3 ofthe machine shown in FIG. I,

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the machine of FIG. I mounted on'the bedof a typical knitting machine during use,

FIG. 6 is a front elevation on the machine and knitting machine shown inFIG. 5 and FIGS. 7a to E area series of detailed plan views each showingthe same two needles from thebed of needles of the knitting machineshown in FIG. 5 and the reciprocable needle mounted on the carriage ofthe selvaging machine in successive positions of one cycle ofreciprocation.

FIG. 3A illustrates a modification which can be introduced to themachine shown in FIGS. 1 to 7,

FIGS. 8 to 11 relate to a second embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 8 is apIan view,

FIG. 9 is an underneath view (view IX IX of FIG. 1 l )a I FIG. 10 is anunderneath sectional view (section X X of FIG. 11)

FIG. 11 is a sectional elevation (section XI XI of FIG. 8),

FIG. 9a is a similar view to that of FIG. 9 with the mechanism in adifferent position.

FIGS. 12 to 14 relate to a third embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 12 is a plan view,

FIG. 13 is a side sectional elevation (section XIII XIII of FIG. 12'),

FIG. 14 is a sectional plan view (section XIV XIV of FIG. 13),

FIGS. 15 to 18 relate to a fourth embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 15 is a plan view,

FIG. 16 is a side sectional elevation (section XVI XVI of FIG. 15),

FIG. 17 is a plan sectional view (section XVII XVII of FIG. 16),

FIG. 18 is an underneath view (view XVIII XVIII of FIG. 16)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The pawl 63 shown in FIG. 3 inparticular can be substituted for by means of a pawl 167 of a doubleacting kind having a spring 168 connected between the pawl and theelement 60 (FIG. 3a). With the pawl 167 in the position shown in fulllines in FIG. 3A the pawl 167 will work on the gear 15 so as to rotatein the direction of arrow 169 which is the opposite direction to that inwhich it will rotate in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. In order to getthe gear 15 to rotate in that direction the pawl 167 must be flippedover to the position indicated by the broken lines 170. Thusin thisembodiment two directional operation can be achieved as well as in thecase of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 18.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a cover plate 1 of the machine has been removed toreveal the components inside.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the selvaging machine comprises a baseplate 2 of rectangular form fabricated from sheet metal. The base plate2 carries various components of the mechanism and two slides 3 and 4which are provided to permit the mechanism to be mounted on the bed of atypical knitting machine and to be transported along the bed accurately,that is without the mechanism wobbling. The slides 3 and 4 could besubstituted for by other slides which are not shown of different shapeor different position so as to adapt the selvaging machine to be appliedto the bed of any other knitting machine to which it can be applied.Thus differences in details of the beds of different knitting machinescan be accommodated for, screws 5 being illustrated to indicate theremovability of the beds 3 and.

. The components ofthe mechanism carried by the base plate 2 include awinding handle 6 which is fixed to a gear 7, the handle and gear beingrotatably mounted by a bracket 80, and the base plate 2. The gear 7meshes with a second gear 8 which in turn is fixed to an eccentric 9 onthe opposite side of the base plate 2, the gear 8 and the eccentric 9being rotatable when driven by the gear 7 on winding of the handle 6.The eccentric 9 is rigidly connected to the gear 8 by means of shaft 10.The gear 8 further carries a pin 11 fixed to it which reciprocatesinside a slot in rectangular cross bar 12, the'cross bar 12 in turnbeing fixed to a shaft 13 which is reciprocably mounted by brackets 14which are fixed to the base plate. Thus rotation of the gear 8 imparts asimple harmonic reciprocation to the shaft 13. The eccentric 9oscillates in an eccentric follower 60 in the form of a flat plate whichhas a slot 61 reciprocable on a bolt 62 which is fixed on the base plate2. The plate 60 carries a pawl 63 which is springloaded to work on agear 15. The gear 15 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 16 fixed to thebase plate 2. The purpose of the gear 15 is for its teeth to engage withupstanding elements of the needles in the bed of a knitting machine andso by rotation of the gear 15 advance the carriage along the bed of theknitting machine during use.

The shaft 13 is bent re-entrantly at 17 and the end has a hole in itwith a set screw 18 entering the hole from the side. This permits aknitting needle 19 to be fixed to the end of the re-entrantly bent shaft13, the knitting needle being of the type having a hook 20 with a latch21, here shown flapped over to the position in which the hook 20 isopen. A guide 22 is fixed tothe base plate 2 and its operative partincludes a slot 23 and guiding curve 24.

The use of the apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 cannow be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown the mechanismis mounted on the bed 30 of a well known type of knitting machine, forexample the type well known under the trade mark Empisal. The bed 30 ofthis machine includes a groove 31 in which the terminal flange of theslide 3 of the selvaging machine runs. The other slide 4 of theselvaging machine slides on the edge 32 of the bed 30. Located in thebed 30 are the usual multiplicity of knitting needles 33 of which theset of needles indicated by the bracket 34 have been extended to anextreme position for the purpose of carrying out the selvaging with theuse of the machine of this invention. All the needles 33 are of thehook-and-latch kind similar to the needle 19, the needles 33 beinglocated in the bed in slides 35 with upturned ends 36 of the needles 33projecting above the upper surface of the bed 30. These upturnedportions 36 of the needles 33 perform a function of the gear teeth of astraight rack of gear teeth. Asindicated by the broken lines 37, thegear 15 located on the underside of the mechanism mesheswith theseupturned end portions 36 of the needles 33'.

The mechanism of this invention is shown during selvaging, the mechanismhaving progressed roughly halfway along the needles 33 which have beenfully extended, is indicated by bracket 34. The mechanism is moving fromright to left as indicated by arrow 38 and about half of the needleshave had the loops removed from them and chain-connected into a selvage.The point 20 of the needle 29 is about to carry on moving following apath indicated by broken line 39 and arrows 40. This path of movement 39is provided by the intermittent action of the gear 15 operated by thepawl 63. Thus during the stroke of the needle point 20 in the directiontowards the bed 30, the pawl 63 drives the gear 15 thus progressivelyadvancing the mechanism carriage and the point 20 proceeds along aninclined line 39 as indicated. On the return stroke of the reciprocatingmovement of the point 20 the pawl 63 is recovering and does not drivethe gear 15 so that the carriage is not advanced but is substantiallyparallel to the needles 33. The needles 33 are fully extended for theselvaging action so that this reciprocating motion of the needle 19 isnot interfered with by the combs 41 of the knitting machine. The knittedfabric is guided by the guide surface 24 of the guide 22 and the groove23 of the guide 22. Control of the knitted fabric is further achieved bymeans of a weight 42 which has a grab 43 which is en gaged in theknitted fabric so weight 42 the weightl42 pulls the fabric downwards.The portion of the knitted fabric which is already selvaged is indicatedat 44 in FIG. 6 and at the point of operation illustrated in FIGS. 5 and6, a loop 45 is around the shaft of the needle 19. With continuingoperation of the mechanism the point 20 of needle 19 approaches the nextloop of the knitted fabric which is indicated by 46. Reference may nowbe had to FIGS. 7 wherein sub-figures a, b, c, d and e indicatesuccessive positions of the needle 19 in one complete reciprocation.Sub-figure 7a shows the position of the needle 19 shortly after theinstant illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The point of the needle 19 has nowmoved along its path to a position in which the point 20 is about toenter the loop 46 of the fabric. The movement of the needle has alsoresulted in the loop 45 encircling its shaft and sliding along towardsthe latch 21 of the needle 19. The direction of movement of the needle19 is indicated in all figures 7 by arrows 48.

Slightly further movement brings the needle 19 to the positionillustrated in sub-figure 7b where the point 20 of the needle 19 hasentered the loop 46 and further sliding of the loop 45 along the shaftof the needle 19 occasioned by the movement of the needle 19 has flippedthe latch 21 over.

Still further movement of the needle 19 in the direction away from theknitting machine bed results in the closed book of the needle 19 pullingthe loop 46 of the fabric completely off its needle 33, while the loop45 of the fabric slips over the closed hook of the'needle 19, thus beingchain-connected to continue the-selvage as shown in 70. Near theposition illustrated in subfigure 7c the needle l9 reaches the end ofits stroke away from the knitting machine bed and begins the returnstroke towards the knitting machine bed. v Movement of the needle 19 alittle way along the return stroke is indicatedin sub-figure 7d. Thissubfigure illustrates how the loop 46 in the closed hook of the needle19 travels round the curve of the hook away from the point 20 duringthis portion'of themovement of the needle 19. 7

Still further movement of the needle 19 towards the knitting machine bedresultsin the loop 46 sliding back along the shaft of the needle 19 andso flipping over the latch 21 as shown.

Still further movement brings the needle 19 to a position correspondingto that illustrated in FIG. 5, but of course in the space between thenext pair of needles 33 of the knittingmachine. Thereafter the wholecycle of reciprocation is repeated, progressing along the knittingmachine bed, andso'completing the selvaging of the knitted fabric.

Clearly it is critical that the path of movement of the point 20 of theneedle 19 be sufficiently accurately determined to ensure that at thestage of the cycle illustrated in FIG. 7a, the point 20 of the needle 19does enter the loop 46 and does not miss it.

At the stage of the cycle of reciprocation illustrated in FIG. 7d, it iscritical that the loop 47 moves along the curve of the hook away fromthe point and not of course towards the point in which event it wouldfall off the hook and the function would fail. The way in which it isachieved that the loop 46 travels around the hook away from its point isthat the imaginary plane in which the curve of the hook of the needle 19is located lies at approximately 45 to the vertical. Thus the point 20of the hook is a little above the axis of the shaft of the needle 19.This factor coupled with the fact that the knitted fabric is pulleddownwards ensures the function that the loop 46 slidesonto the needleshaft and not off it. 45 is not of course in any sense a critical angleand assuming a downward pull on the knitted fabric, any angle not tooclose to horizontal as to be substantially horizontal would suffice. Onthe other hand, however,

the hook cannot be too near the vertical since it might then not hookinto the loop 46 at the stage illustrated in FIG. 7a. Hence somethingnear 45 represents the good compromise. These angles are based on theassumption of a downward pull on a knitted fabric but it .is possiblethat with a pull exerted on the knitted fabric in another direction,other satisfactory angles of the hookof the needle 19 could be achieved.

Finally as shown in FIG. 7e, the fact that the needle 19 is inclined atan angle looked at in plan view, relative to needles 33, provides thatthe latch 21 does not interfere with the loop 46 during that portion ofmovement of the needle 19 away from the knitting machine bed, from theposition illustrated in FIG. 5 towards the dle 67 protrudes above thecover 65 on a crank 68 secured by screw 69. A needle carrier 70protrudes and carries a needle 71 with a set screw 721 for securing theneedle and permitting interchanging. A guide (for the knitted fabric) 73is mounted on a carrier 74 which is fixed to and protrudes from thecarriage. The carriage further comprises two sliders 75 and 76 which areattached to the base 66 and which slide on slide surfaces provided on aneedle bedof a knitting machine for which this selvaging machine isadapted. The selvaging machine further comprises a mechanism which isadapted in the first place to provide reciprocation of the needlecarrier 70 and in the second place to move the carriage along a needlebed of a knitting machine by means of the tooth element 77. Themechanism for providing reciprocation of the needle carrier 70 comprises a crank 78 connected by shaft 79 to the crank 68 of the handle67. The crank 78 carries a pin 80 which slides inside a cross-head 81which is a channel-shaped element fixed to the shaft 70a of the needlecarrier 70. The shaft 70a of the needle carrier 70 is slidably mountedby means of two brackets 71 and 72 which are fixed to-the lid 65. Bythese means rotation of the handle 67 causes reciprocation of the needlecarrier 70. Movement of the tooth element 77 is achieved by means of apin 82 which, apart from serving to secure the cross-head 81 onto theshaft 70a, also projects through a slot 83 which is provided in the baseplate 66 for it. The tooth element 77 comprises a terminal projection ofa tab element 84 which is mounted on the base plate 66 by means of astud 85 which passes through a slotted hole 86 in the tab 84. A tensioncoil spring 87 is connected between a bracket 88 which is fixed to thebase plate 66 and a projection 89 of the tab 84. This pulls the tab 84so that its edge 90 bearsagainst the pin 82 and so that the tab 84slides in the direction of the arrow 91 to the extreme position of itsslotted hole 86. When the pin' 82 reciprocates to the extreme positionshown in FIG. 9a it draws the tab 84 in the direction of the arrow 92practically to the opposite extreme end of the slotted hole 86 as shownand also pulls the tab 84 to pivot in the direction in which it istending to be pulled by the spring 87. This arrangement provides thatwhen the carriage is on a needle bed of a knitting machine and the toothelement 77 is located between adjacent needles in the position shown inFIG. 9, when the pin 82 moves to the position shown in FIG. 9a the toothelement 77 is first pulled in the direction of arrow 92 out ofengagement with the needles then the spring 87 pulls it across in thedirection of arrow 93 so that it passes to the next adjacent spacebetween needles and then when the pin 82 reciprocates back towards theposition shown in FIG. 9 it works against the edge 90 so that the toothelement 77 pushes against a needle and advances the carriage one needlepitch. This procedure continues as one winds the handle 67 so that foreach complete revolution of the handle 67 the carriage is advanced oneneedle pitch along the needle bed of the knitting machine. Theinter-action of the needle 71 with a knitted fabric whose loops are onthe needles of the needle bed of the knitting machine is the same as hasalready been described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

As shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 this selvaging machine comprises a cover 100which is fixed to a base plate 101. Onto the base plate 101 two sliders102 and 103 are fixed on the base plate 101 and are adapted so that theycan slide along the length of the needle bed of a knitting machine towhich this selvaging machine can be applied. The base plate 101 in thisexample also carries a guide surface 104 which is adapted to pull allthe needles into the desired position as the selvaging machine movesalong a knitting machine bed. Such a guide can be provided ,in all theembodiments of this invention. A needle carrier 105 comprises a shaft105a which passes through two brackets 106 and 107 which mount the shaftin a way permitting it to reciprocate. Fixed onto the shaft is a pin 108which passes through a slot provided for it in the cover 100 and carriesa knob 109 secured by set screw 110. A counterpoised knob 111 is fixedto the cover plate 100. The shaft 105a also carries a cross-head 112whose sole purpose is to prevent the shaft 1050 from rotating at all byvirtue of the cross-head 112 bearing against the base plate 101. Acompression coil spring 113 is located around the shaft 105a, actsagainst the pin 108 and reacts against the bracket 106 so that-thespring 113 tends to push the shaft 105a in the direction ofthe arrow114. A pin 115 is fixed to the shaft 105a and it acts against a sideedge 116 of a tab 117 which is mounted by means of a stud 118 whichpasses through a slotted hole in the tab 117. The tab 117 carries atooth element 119 and a tension coil spring 120 connects between the endof the tab 117 and a bracket 120. The tooth element 119 passes through ahole 121 in the base plate 101. The base plate 101 has turned up tabs122 by means of which the cover plate 100 is attached to the base plate.A carrier shaft 123 is fixed to the bracket 106 and carries the fabricguiding means 124. The needle carrier 105 carries a needle 125 with afixing screw 126 to permit interchanging of the needle. In order tooperate this selvaging machine one hand is placed with the ball of thehand on the knob 111 and the fingers on the knob 109 and whilealternating squeezing and releasing the hand the shaft 1050 isreciprocated and with it the needle 125 is reciprocated. During thereciprocation the pin 115 acts against the surface 116 of the tab 117.When the shaft 105a moves in the direction of the arrow 127 from theposition shown in FIG. 14 the coil spring 120 is permitted to draw thetab 117 in the same direction which causes the tooth element 119 toenter a space between two adjacent needles in a needle bed of theknitting machine on which this selvaging machine is mounted. Furthermovement in a direction of the arrow 127 causes the pin to act againstthe edge 116 of the tab 117 so as to move the tooth element in thedirection of the arrow 128 which drives the carriage along the needlebed by a distance equal to the pitch of the needles on the needle bed.When the limit of reciprocation is reached and one releases the hand thespring 113 pushes the shaft 105 back to the position shown in FIG. 14which again withdraws the tooth element 119 from between the spacebetween the two needles mentioned above. Repeated squeezing andreleasing the knobs repeats the cycle so that one reciprocation of theneedle is effected for each advance of the carriage by one needle pitchalong the needle bed of the knitting machine. This causes the selvagingto be carried out in the manner described above with reference to FIGS.5, 6 and 7.

In FIGS. 15 to 18 a selvaging machine is shown which can work in bothdirections as indicated by arrows 130 and 131. The machine comprises acover plate 132 which is fixed to a base plate 133. On the base plate133 two slide surfaces i34 and 135 are provided for sliding along theneedle bed of a knitting machine to which this selvaging machine is tobe applied. A handle 136 is mounted on a crank 137 which is fixed bymeans of a thumb screw 138 to a shaft 139 which is journaled in a holein the base plate 133. The shaft 139 also passes through a slotted hole140 which is provided in a crosshead 141. The shaft 139 has fixed to itan eccentrically mounted circular disc 142 and a second eccentricallymounted circular disc 143. The cross-head 141 is mounted on the baseplate 133 between two slide edges 144 and 145. A needle carrier 146 isfixed to the crosshead 141 and carries two needles 147 and 148 with ascrew 149 for interchanging and adjustment. A carrier 150 is fixed tothe cover plate 132 and carries material guiding strips 151 and 152. Theeccentrically mounted cicular disc 143 works inside square hole 153provided in a tab 154 which is mounted by means of a stud 155 whichpasses through a slotted hole 156 of the tab 154. The stud 155- is fixedin the base plate 133. The tab 154 carries a tooth element 157. A bar158 is mounted on the base plate 133 and has a notch 159. When thehandle 136 is rotated the eccentrically mounted circular disc 142 worksinside the cross-head 141 and causes it to reciprocate therebyreciprocating the needle holder 146 and thus the needles 147 and 148.Simultaneously the eccentrically mounted disc 143 works inside thesquare hole 153 of the tab 154. This causes the tooth element 157 tooscillate on an elliptical path which is substantially centered on thenotch 159. The result is that the tooth element 157 enters and leavesthe spaces between adjacent needles in a needle bed of a knittingmachine on which the carriage is mounted and pushes the carriage alongthe needle bed, one needle pitch at a time. The notch 159 pro- Thismakes the mechanism more compact and cheaper to manufacture. Adisadvantage is that the tooth element 77 does not give quite aspositive and reliable an action as the gear 115 which may result inmissing a stitch.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 is substantially similar to thatshown in FIGS. 8 to 1 1 except that here the crank has been omittedtogether with its corresponding cross-head with again a resulting savingand cost of manufacture. The three embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 14have a common disadvantage that they can operate only in one direction.This is of importance for example when finishing polo-necks or whenreducing V-necks, where the above described models could only do oneside. Also lefthanded people were handicapped. These disadvantages areof course overcome in the embodimentof FIGS. 15 to 18 where theselvaging machine can move in both directions. The embodiment shown inFIGS. 15 to 18 could if warranted be given improved reliability andpositiveness of action by substituting the tooth element 157 with thegear 15 of the embodiment-of FIGS. 1 to 4 and the associated elements.

An important point for all embodiments of this invention which employ acrank handle is that the crank must be so fitted that at the instant ofadvance of the carriage the movement of the crank is in the samedirection, otherwise a force applied to the crank by a person crankingit can tend to counteract the advance of the carriage and encouragejamming or unreliable operation. r 1 a e The notch 159 shown in FIG. 16which provides what can be described as a click engagement with'theneedles is a feature which can be incorporated in all the embodiments ofthis invention for more positive engagement with the needle bed.

In application of the mechanism in accordance with this invention to onewell known type of knitting machine, for example, it is necessary thatthe needles of the knitting machine carrying the fabric to be selvagedshould be fully extended to project beyond the comb of the knittingmachine so that the prongs of the comb between each needle do notinterfere with the operation of the reciprocating needle carried on thecarriage of the mechanism provided by this invention.

The embodiments of the mechanism in accordance with this invention haveall been shown with a guide mounted on the carriage adapted to guide theknitted fabric which depends from the needles of a knitting machineduring transportation of the carriage along the bed of the knittingmachine. The guiding function which must be exercised by the guide isbasically a function of holding the .knitted fabric which depends fromthe needles of the machine in one suitable position during reciprocationof the needle carried on the carriage. During each action of removingthe loops of the fabric and chain-connecting them, the guide ensuresagainst the fabric being moved back abd' forth, which would otherwisenullify the operation of the reciprocating needle. Whether the guide isessential for effective functioning of this invention, would have to bedetermined by experiment in each particular embodiment and applicationof the invention and while in general it would be preferable to use theguide in all applications and embodiments of the invention, it ispossible that the invention could be employed effectively in somecircumstances without the guide. For example,

whether or not weights are applied to the knitted fabric so asto make ithang down stiffly may have a considerable influence on this factor. Inpractice, one hand of the user may also be employed to hold the knittedfabric in a direction suitable to ensure effective operation of theselvaging action of the reciprocating needle.

In accordance with a preferred feature of this invention, thereciprocatable needle carried on the carriage is orientated in such away that the curve of the hook of the end of the needle lies in a planewhich is inclined between horizontal and vertical, preferably between 20and conveniently in the vicinity of 45. This orientation may preferablybe employed to ensure on the one hand that the point of the hook entersa depending loop of a knitted fabric which is looped around a needle ofthe knitting machine in one stroke of reciprocation while providing thaton the other hand on the next stroke in the opposite direction of thereciprocating needle a loop which has been caught by the point of thehook passes round the hook and slides onto the shaft of the needle. Thispresupposes a downward pull on the loop exercised by the remainder ofknitted fabric of which it is a part, the downward pull coming perhapsmerely from the knitted fabric itself, perhaps from a weight applied toit or perhaps from a manual downward pull. 5

In accordance with a further preferred feature of this invention, thereciprocable needle carried on the carriage is orientated so that thelongitudinal axis of the shaft of the needle is inclined at asubstantial angle to the path of reciprocating of the point of theneedle during use. For example, by the term substantial angle, an anglelying between 5 and 10 is implied. The purpose of this inclination ofthe reciprocable needle is to ensure that the latch does not catch ontheloop which the point of the hook is intended to catch during thatstroke of reciprocation which causes the hook to engage with a loop ofthe knitted fabric. Thus the inclination is in a sense which results inthe latch being moved away from that position in which it may, catchwith and interfere with a loop of the knitted fabric. Otherwise insteadof lying at an angle of 5 10 the needle could be at 0 but in staggeredrelationship to the needles of the main machine. The description ofselvaging with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 has described thechainconnecting of the loops which are on the needle shafts. Anothermethod of selvaging is to use the free end of the thread to make theselvage. In this method that latch needle of the invention will enter aloop which is on a knitting machine needle on the inward moving strokeand on the outward stroke the hook of the needle of the carriage willcatch the knitting yarn and pull a loop of it through the firstmentionedloop. This loop of the knitting yarn will then be carried by the needleof the carriage to the next loop held by the next knitting machineneedle. It first passes through this next loop and catches again theyarn at the back, pulls it through this next loop on the knittingmachine and theloop of the knitting yarn which was formed, the resultingloop is then carried forward to the following loop on the knittingmachine and so on, repetitively.

This method can be achieved on the selvaging machine shown in FIGS. 15to 18 by adding guides and 166, shown in broken lines, for the knittingyarn and varying the needle positions slightly.

What I claim is:

1. A selvaging machine for use on a knitting machine which knittingmachine comprises a needle bed which has two slide surfaces extendingalong the length of the needle bed and a plurality of needles locatedtransversely across the bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced,the selvaging machine being for use in applying a selvage to a knittedfabric in which the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric are onthe needle shafts of the needles,

which selvaging machine comprises a carriage adapted to be slidablymovable along the needle bed by means of slide members which can slideon the slide surfaces of the needle bed,

a toothed element mounted in the carriage and adapted to engage eachneedle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a spacebetween two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as toadvance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres andthe toothed element to'then move out of the space and into the nextspace between the next two adjacent needles, and so on,

and a needle carrier mounted in the carriage adapted to carry a needlewhich has a latched hook, with the hook located near to the hooks of theneedles of the needle bed and the shaft of the needle in the needlecarrier directed away from the needle bed, the needle carrier beingadapted to reciprocate one cycle comprising once towards the needle bedand once away from the needle bed while the carriage moves lengthwisealong the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between centres ofthe needles in the needle bed and handle means adapted to be manuallyactuated and connected to the toothed element and to the needle carrierby mechanisms adapted to actuate the toothed element and the needlecarrier in the manner described so that one cycle of reciprocation ofthe needle carried on the carriage is completed per needle spacing onthe bed during transportation of the carriage along the bed, the hook ofthe needle carried on the carriage being positioned and oriented so thatsuch reciprocation successively removes the loops of the last knittedrow of the fabric and chain-connects them to form a selvage.

2. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the toothedelement comprises a gear wheel having a plurality of teeth, the pitch ofthe gear teeth being equal to the distance between centres of theneedles of the needle bed and each tooth dimensioned to be able to entera space between two adjacent needles.

3. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the gear wheel isadvanced by means of the action of a pawl which oscillates by virtue ofan eccentric mechanism which is connected with a handle crank whichconstitutes the handle means, and the oscillation of the needle iscontrived by means ofa crank pin connected with the handle and crank andthe crank pin running in or cross-head fixed to a needle holder which ismounted for linear reciprocation, the needle being mounted in the needleholder.

4. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 3, in which the pawl iscontrived to be a double acting pawl, with a suitably adjustable springloading, adapted so that the pawl can act on the gear wheel to rotate iteither in one direction or another according to the setting of thedouble acting pawl.

5. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a needlecarrier for the needle, which carrier is arranged for linearreciprocating movement, having a pin fixed to the needle carrier, a tabpivotally mounted by means of a stud passing through a slotted hole inthe tab, the tab comprising a profiled edge against which the pin isadapted to work when the pin reciprocates linearly due to such movementof the needle carrier, the tab being spring loaded to tend to keep theprofiled edge bearing against the pin, the tab carrying a tooth elementdimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles ofthe knitting machine needle bed, and the profiled edge being adapted tocause the tooth element to enter a space between two needles on theneedle bed, to bear against one needle so as to slide the carriage alongthe needle bed a distance equal to the distance between adjacent needlecentres and the tooth element to then withdraw from the space and enterthe next space, and so on, repetitively, during reciprocation of theneedle holder.

6. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 5, in which the handle meanscomprises simply two knobs, one mounted on the needlecarrier and onemounted on the carriage, juxtaposed so that a person may put the ball ofthe hand against one knob and the fingers against the other and byalternately squeezing and releasing cause reciprocation of the needlecarrier.

7. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the needlecarrier is mounted for linear reciprocation and carries a cross-head inthe form of a channel section, and an eccentrically mounted disc worksin the cross-head, a handle and crank being connected to a shaft onwhich the disc is eccentrically mounted, the shaft carrying furthermeans comprising a tooth element, adapted to oscillate the toothelement, the tooth element being dimensioned to be able to enter a spacebetween two adjacent needles on the needle bed of the knitting machine,the oscillation adapted to cause the tooth element to entera spacebetween adjacent needles, to bear against one needle and cause thecarriage to slide along the needle bed a distance equal to the distancebetween adjacent needle centres and to then move out of the spacebetween the aforementioned adjacent needles and move into the next spacebetween the next two adjacent needles, and so on, repetitively.

1. A selvaging machine for use on a knitting machine which knittingmachine comprises a needle bed which has two slide surfaces extendingalong the length of the needle bed and a plurality of needles locatedtransversely across the bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced,the selvaging machine being for use in applying a selvage to a knittedfabric in which the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric are onthe needle shafts of the needles, which selvaging machine comprises acarriage adapted to be slidably movable along the needle bed by means ofslide members which can slide on the slide surfaces of the needle bed, atoothed element Mounted in the carriage and adapted to engage eachneedle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a spacebetween two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as toadvance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres andthe toothed element to then move out of the space and into the nextspace between the next two adjacent needles, and so on, and a needlecarrier mounted in the carriage adapted to carry a needle which has alatched hook, with the hook located near to the hooks of the needles ofthe needle bed and the shaft of the needle in the needle carrierdirected away from the needle bed, the needle carrier being adapted toreciprocate one cycle comprising once towards the needle bed and onceaway from the needle bed while the carriage moves lengthwise along theneedle bed a distance equal to the distance between centres of theneedles in the needle bed and handle means adapted to be manuallyactuated and connected to the toothed element and to the needle carrierby mechanisms adapted to actuate the toothed element and the needlecarrier in the manner described so that one cycle of reciprocation ofthe needle carried on the carriage is completed per needle spacing onthe bed during transportation of the carriage along the bed, the hook ofthe needle carried on the carriage being positioned and oriented so thatsuch reciprocation successively removes the loops of the last knittedrow of the fabric and chain-connects them to form a selvage.
 2. Aselvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the toothed elementcomprises a gear wheel having a plurality of teeth, the pitch of thegear teeth being equal to the distance between centres of the needles ofthe needle bed and each tooth dimensioned to be able to enter a spacebetween two adjacent needles.
 3. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim1, in which the gear wheel is advanced by means of the action of a pawlwhich oscillates by virtue of an eccentric mechanism which is connectedwith a handle crank which constitutes the handle means, and theoscillation of the needle is contrived by means of a crank pin connectedwith the handle and crank and the crank pin running in or cross-headfixed to a needle holder which is mounted for linear reciprocation, theneedle being mounted in the needle holder.
 4. A selvaging machine asclaimed in claim 3, in which the pawl is contrived to be a double actingpawl, with a suitably adjustable spring loading, adapted so that thepawl can act on the gear wheel to rotate it either in one direction oranother according to the setting of the double acting pawl.
 5. Aselvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a needlecarrier for the needle, which carrier is arranged for linearreciprocating movement, having a pin fixed to the needle carrier, a tabpivotally mounted by means of a stud passing through a slotted hole inthe tab, the tab comprising a profiled edge against which the pin isadapted to work when the pin reciprocates linearly due to such movementof the needle carrier, the tab being spring loaded to tend to keep theprofiled edge bearing against the pin, the tab carrying a tooth elementdimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles ofthe knitting machine needle bed, and the profiled edge being adapted tocause the tooth element to enter a space between two needles on theneedle bed, to bear against one needle so as to slide the carriage alongthe needle bed a distance equal to the distance between adjacent needlecentres and the tooth element to then withdraw from the space and enterthe next space, and so on, repetitively, during reciprocation of theneedle holder.
 6. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 5, in whichthe handle means comprises simply two knobs, one mounted on the needlecarrier and one mounted on the carriage, juxtaposed so that a person mayput the ball of the hand against one knob and the fingers against theother and by alternately squeezing and releasing cause reciproCation ofthe needle carrier.
 7. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the needle carrier is mounted for linear reciprocation and carriesa cross-head in the form of a channel section, and an eccentricallymounted disc works in the cross-head, a handle and crank being connectedto a shaft on which the disc is eccentrically mounted, the shaftcarrying further means comprising a tooth element, adapted to oscillatethe tooth element, the tooth element being dimensioned to be able toenter a space between two adjacent needles on the needle bed of theknitting machine, the oscillation adapted to cause the tooth element toenter a space between adjacent needles, to bear against one needle andcause the carriage to slide along the needle bed a distance equal to thedistance between adjacent needle centres and to then move out of thespace between the aforementioned adjacent needles and move into the nextspace between the next two adjacent needles, and so on, repetitively.